The courts divided the county into the following
"old" townships from 1821 through 1838.
Auxvasse Feb. 12,1821; Round Prairie May 14, 1821;
Elizabeth [changed to Fulton 1825 Fulton] May 15, 1821;
Nine Mile Prairie May 15, 1821; Cedar November 13, 1824;
Bourbon February 21, 1825; Liberty February 24, 1838.
Cote San Dessein Township was defined as all of the county lying
west of the Auxvasse River and line in the county".
Early settlers in the township included the following families: Bartley; Boyce; Burch; Childs; Crow; Eley; Ferguson; Hopkins; Hord; Hord; Lamgley; Stokes; Whittington and Williams.
Cote San Dessien was the name of an ancient French Village and means "a hill without design". This settlement name comes from an isolated hill on the banks of the Missouri River.
Settlements and towns included Cote San Dessein township included Barkersville; Cote San Dessein and Hord Post Office.